If you lead - a person, a team, a project - you need other people to make it all happen.
Leaders cannot lead in isolation.
There are 6 reasons great leaders do not lead in isolation.
1. Isolated leaders do not receive care and encouragement.
2. Isolated leaders do not experience necessary confrontation.
3. Isolated leaders make foolish decisions.
4. Isolated leaders don’t learn effectively.
5. Isolated leaders are divorced from reality.
6. Isolated leaders are removed from the people they lead.
Leaders on their way to being great, know:
They need to take care of themselves and connect as a human.
They need to get to know their people and let their people get to know them.
They need to take care of the hard conversations.
They need to be informed in real time.
They need to be a part of their people’s growth.
They need to work alongside their people in good and bad times.
These attributes are what your people need from you at work if you lead. This sounds simple and straightforward. But when you walk in the door at work - or into your home office - or open your laptop to video meet someone - what gets lost?
Covid did a LOT to isolate us all and we are all finding our way back in a new hybrid work world.
I recently produced a short adult learning series for the School of Mines in Golden, Colorado on the pros and cons of hybrid work. In my research, even I needed to be reminded that remote work is not an employee right in our post-covid reality. So many of us have taken the idea of remote work as an automatic option that we forget the negative side of isolation.
Humans need humans - in some way, shape, or form. We bond when working on projects together - whether side by side in an office - or virtually across the globe.
And when you get the chance to lead - you must keep this in mind and weigh what works best for your clients and employees. On top of that, your job shifts from tactical performance to strategic connections and taking care of your people’s growth. When your people grow, so does your success. But you cannot do it in isolation. Get connected, stay connected.
If you want more information on how to move from tactical to strategic, it’s a perfect time to ask questions about the upcoming Leadership Challenge in 2024.